A chilling video has emerged that captures the moment a Russian military transport plane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs), nosedived toward a town, before crashing and exploding upon impact in the Belgorod region near the Ukraine border. The spine-chilling video has since gone viral.
The Ilyushin Il-76 can be seen in the video rapidly plummeting from the sky and then swiftly crashing into the ground in front of shocked locals in the village of Yablonovo, located about 26 miles from the Ukrainian border. The footage then shows the large 164ft plane erupting into a massive fireball upon impact with the ground before engulfing the 72-tonne jet in flames.
Killed in No Time
Shortly after the crash, Russia claimed that the military plane was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, along with six crew members and three accompanying individuals, alleging a total of 74 casualties.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod region, confirmed that all 74 people onboard had lost their lives in the incident.
Initial reports from Ukrainian military sources suggested their involvement in downing the Russian military aircraft, alleging it carried S-300 air defense missiles. However, this claim was later retracted.
Andrei Kartapolov, a member of Russia's State Duma and a retired general, claimed that the plane was shot down by three types of missiles supplied to Ukraine by the West, although no evidence was provided.
He said that investigations would determine whether the missiles involved were the US-made Patriots or German IRIS-Ts.
"It was absolutely deliberate. They knew very well that the plane was en route, where it was going and the operators of (Ukrainian) surface-to-air missile systems cannot mistake transport planes for military planes or helicopters as targets," Kartapolov said.
"It was done deliberately to sabotage the prisoner exchange," Kartapolov said, without providing evidence to back up his claims.
Vyacheslav Volodin, the top lawmaker in Russia's lower house of parliament, echoed a similar stance and claimed that the plane had been 'shot down' by Kyiv, putting the blame on Western missiles.
"They shot their own soldiers in the air. Their own,' Volodin told lawmakers in a plenary session.
"Their mothers, wives and children were waiting for them. They took a decision and shot down our defenceless pilots on a military transport plane, who were carrying out a humanitarian mission, with American and German rockets," he added.
Ukraine Refutes Allegations
Russia's claims immediately debunked, with analysts highlighting notable inconsistencies in Moscow's allegations. Footage from the crash site in the Belgorod region did not show multiple bodies or body parts, with only a blurry image suggesting the presence of one bloody remains.
The Russian authorities claimed that human remains were scattered over a mile from the crash site, but such evidence has not been presented.
Emergencies Ministry staff, typically involved in air crash investigations, were reportedly replaced by Defense Ministry soldiers with police support at the site, who were particularly interested in collecting scattered documents in the snow.
Prominent Ukrainian journalist Illia Ponomarenko expressed skepticism, finding it difficult to believe that only three Russians would accompany 65 Ukrainian POWs.
He also questioned the likelihood that Ukraine's military would be unaware that this specific aircraft was transporting their troops, especially in the context of a significant prisoner swap.
Veterans of previous exchanges, such as Ukrainian POW Max Kolesnikov, cast doubt on the credibility of the claim that three guards were overseeing 65 prisoners, deeming it implausible and suggesting it is a 'lie.'
Kolesnikov cited his own experience, noting that there were at least 20 guards accompanying 50 prisoners on the plane.
